Varandha Ghat

Ever felt to ceaselessly contemplate the nature's sketch in front of you and and feel blisfull at that very  moment !  Varandh Ghat is one such place. Located in Sahyadri, Varandha ghat connects the eastern Maharashtra to the Konkan region. This ghat is nature lovers delight. It is dotted with lakes, dams, colurful flowers, quaint villages. The scenic beauty of it will leave you mesmerized when it meanders through mist filled clouds and green landscape.

My first rendezvous with this ghat came by chance where I was returning back from Goa and had to take detour for some reason. At that time it was very much frequented by people hopping from east to west. As the infratructure for Konkan connectivity improved, it has become offbeat and mostly frequented by the vehicles from adjoining villages or government buses . This is a blessing in disguise for preservaiton of its pristine beauty.

Let's begin the journey...

Sometimes the journey is much chershing than the destination and at few times, if you get lucky the journey and the destination both are equally cherishing. This is one of such journeys.

Me and my wife wanted to spend a day in Mahabaleshwar or Panchgani to take some time off from city life and rewind in some quaint hill side cosy place. Although, it was last minute booking but we found a resonable lodge which promised to offer a good view but the property was small. It was already 11.30 pm and we planned to reach there next day, so it seemed to be the best deal on such short notice.

We started a little late in the morning as we were exhausted a day before with Ganpati celebration and festivities at home. September is the month in Pune which heralds the onset of festive season in Maharashtra starting with Ganpati festival. Our journey was smooth and since the lodge was in Panchgani, we arrived a little earlier than expected. Still exhausted from yesterday's celebration we headed straight to the room which was on the third floor. The lodge was located on the ridge, surrounded by towering trees, narrow passages and just few metres down from the Mapro garden. Once we opened the door of balcony, we were really mesmerised by the view ! The beautiful Dhom Dam, quaint village beside it and mountains stretching all across the horizon. It was so refreshing after a long journey.

Dhom Dam view

We rested for sometime and then had late lunch at Mapro. No visit to Panchgani is complete without having sandhwiches, sizzling brownie and strawberry cream in Mapro. We spent rest of the day hiking to Lingmala waterfall and then planning for the next day on the balcony of the hotel overlooking the mountains. After a bit of enquiry with locals and cartography on Google Maps we decided to take this route back to Pune to experience the nature drive across Sahyaris.

Route :
Panchgani -> Ambenali Ghat -> Poladpur -> Birwadi -> Varandha Ghat -> Bhor -> Pune

Varandha Ghat route

The locals did warn that the road is very narrow and gets steeper as we reach the piannacle of the Varandh ghat and is not so frequented now a days. Nevertheless, we decided to take this route beacuse the true beauty of Sahyadris can be experienced only by travelling through its vintage routes that connect East Maharashtra to Konkan across Western ghats. In between, we decided to take stops for Prabalgadh Fort, Waghjai temple and Necklace point which are on the way.

I woke up early in the morning next day and went to the balcony. The whole range was engulfed in clouds that I could barely see anything in few meters. Mountains, village and dam all covered in dense fog and cold. We had our breakfast there while the mist filled fog gave way to sunshine for a brief moment and then engulfing again the whole valley with them. This dancing of clouds continued till 10.30 am when the clouds finally disappeared and sunshine filled the valley with the bright colours.

We checked out after breakfast and headed straight to Prabalghad. The road was in good condition at most places. A little detour of 4km takes us to the base of the fort. There is parking space available there for carrs and two wheelers. And from here we need to hike to the fort.

The fort is a huge complex, sitting on top of the mountain with bird eye view of the valley. The fort was constructed by Shivaji Maharaj to watch over the banks of Nira and Koyna river. The fort houses temples, local shops offering pitla bakri and chai, garden and many villagers also reside in thhe complex. There are few vantage points on the fort offering grand view of Sahyadris which served as strategic defence mechanism in erstwhile time.

Pratapgad fort

It was already noon and we had to cover two ghats so we decided to move ahead with journey and started to drive back to Ambneli ghat that would later connect to highway and then from there to Varandh ghat. It started to rain heavily and the road became narrow as we hit Ambneli ghat. We decided to skip lunch and have snacks and chai once we reach Varandha. As we reached highway the rain stopped and sunshine arrived.Wwe took turn for Birwadi which would later connect to Varandh ghat. 

The drive past Birwadi was very scenic. Small villages on both sides and green mountains  all around, quite contrast to concrete jungle of the most highways. Few kilomters ahead of Birwadi the ascent to Varandh ghat started and we were welcomed with colourful flowers on the fringes of the ghat. With few occasional cars, the road was mostly deserted. As we started getting closer to Waghjai temple, the real beauty of the Varandha Ghat and the Sahyadris became more vivid and it started getting cloudy and cold. Once we reached the iconic point of Varandh ghat and the Waghjai temple we halted there and headed for much anticipated snacks and chai to enjoy it with the tranquil view of the ghat. 

The clouds started to gather and it was very calm and tranquil as the fog and mist veiled and unveiled the vallley marching past it. We were finally at the destinaiton and enjoying the scenic beauty of Varandha ghat. It is experiences like these which rejuvenates us and one feels calm and relaxed. We paid our respects at Waghjai temple nearby and after enjoying our time at Varandha ghat we hit back on the road towards Bhor that would connect to the Pune highway later. The road was again filled with dense fog for few kilometers but fanned out as we descended to plains. We stopped only once for quick chai break at Necklace point, closer to Nira dam before heading home.

PS : There is a grand waterfall called 'Shivthar Ghal' on the way from Birwadi to Shivthar Ghal. One has to take small detour from the road towards Shivth Ghal village. It takes 1-2 hours one side to reach the waterfall. 
Shivthar Ghal waterfall - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivthar_Ghal